Are Chelsea Better Off with Antonio Conte in Charge?

It depends on perspective as to whether Antonio Conte has been an early success or failure at Chelsea.

A club of the Blues' size and stature doesn't allow for anything between those margins. Managers either make a difference and are successful or they get the chop and disappear into the ether. As we've seen under owner Roman Abramovich, not many fall into the former category.

The jury remains out on Conte. There is a large group of Blues supporters who are advocating the principle of time being afforded to the Italian. Then there are others frustrated with the manner in which Chelsea lost to Liverpool and Arsenal in September.

Given how Chelsea have struggled this past year, it's difficult to judge how well Conte's methods are working at Stamford Bridge. Do we attribute those defeats to a previous regime, or are they a sign of the former Juventus coach's failings as a manager?

GLYN KIRK/Getty Images

The definitive answer will become clearer as the season progresses, but looking at Chelsea's first seven Premier League games under Conte's leadership, we can still form something tangible that resembles a sound judgement.

In the same matches last season, home or away against West Ham United, Watford, the promoted Championship champions Bournemouth (this season Burnley), Swansea City, Liverpool, Arsenal and the promoted Championship play-off winners Norwich City (this season Hull City), the Blues picked up just eight points.

Of those seven matches, Chelsea won just twice—against Arsenal and Norwich. At home, they were defeated by Bournemouth and Liverpool, drawing with West Ham. Away, they drew with Watford but lost to Swansea.

In the corresponding fixtures this term, Chelsea are well up—by five points, in fact—and it means things are looking far more positive under Conte.

West Ham United (H)	2-1 (W)
Watford (A)	2-1 (W)
Burnley (H)	3-0 (W)
Swansea City (A)	2-2 (D)
Liverpool (H)	2-1 (L)
Arsenal (A)	3-0 (L)
Hull City (A)	2-0 (W)

Sure, the 1-0 victory against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last season became a 3-0 loss in 2016/17, but other than that, results are showing improvement. Chelsea have doubled their victories against the same opposition from two to four, with the loss to Liverpool the only other game showing there has been zero progress.

Given Chelsea's two defeats this term came against sides that are established under their managers, it's hardly a shock, either. Remember, Conte's team is still largely comprised of the same players who finished in 10th place last year.

We expected a big clear-out at Stamford Bridge on the back of that, but instead, we were given evolution over revolution. And when that sort of approach is put into practice, the natural outcome is to expect gradual steps forward rather than bounding leaps.

By comparing like-for-like between 2015/16 and the present, though, we can at least measure just how far that progress goes. Right now, it's a long way, as Chelsea sit just outside the top four. And with the latest rounds of international fixtures coming to a close, they can look ahead to returning to Premier League action in a positive mood.

West Ham United (H)	2-2 (D)
Watford (A)	0-0 (D)
Bournemouth (H)	1-0 (L)
Swansea City (A)	1-0 (L)
Liverpool (H)	3-1 (L)
Arsenal (A)	1-0 (W)
Norwich City (A)	2-1 (W)

Indeed, apply the same formula across Chelsea's matches last season, and the picture for Conte's first campaign in England looks all the more brighter.

For instance, Chelsea lost a total of 12 league games last year, winning the same number and drawing 14. Applying the principles of this term, when we've seen them double their number of victories against the same opponents, there's a case to suggest Conte's side may well be title challengers come the season's end.

As the Liverpool and Arsenal defeats showed us, there are going to be significant bumps in the road to achieving anything close to that, yet outside of potential title challengers, the Blues are beginning to get back to familiar territory.

It wasn't losing matches to Manchester City, Liverpool and eventual champions Leicester City that proved Chelsea's undoing last year. They could have lived with that and enjoyed a more fruitful season had they not imploded against the so-called lesser opponents.

Ian Walton/Getty Images

As well as Swansea and Bournemouth, Chelsea lost to Stoke City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Southampton, West Ham and Sunderland. Failure to pick up points against them at one stage or another is what ultimately killed Chelsea's season.

The early signs under Conte are that it isn't going to be so this term—already Chelsea have beaten two of those teams, and if we supplant Burnley for Bournemouth, we can make that three.

Assuming Conte's side can do the same against the five other teams in the list, the extra 15 points puts them back into the conversation for a top-four spot. Last season Chelsea finished the campaign on a flat 50 points, 16 behind City, who claimed fourth.

It's simple maths, and we're talking hypothetically; Chelsea will be facing different teams and different players. We shouldn't let that completely overshadow the point, however.

GLYN KIRK/Getty Images

What Conte has done in the few months he has been in charge at Chelsea is to restore their status as one of the leading clubs in the Premier League. They're not the top dog just yet—far from it—but they're reclaiming their position in the pecking order.

Whereas they were wounded and everyone had a go at them in 2015/16, it's not happening this time around. Chelsea are back to beating the teams they should be—at least those we expect them to—which hasn't happened enough in the last 12 months.

The Blues were no longer a scalp; teams who were used to being bullied and beaten by them suddenly had parity in 2015/16, and they made the most of it. The progress under Conte is that's no longer the case.

Chelsea may not be ready to push their traditional rivals all the way; equally, Conte's presence is ensuring they are not pushovers themselves.

Steve Bardens/Getty Images

If the manager repeats the form from these first seven games over the course of the season, Chelsea will finish with around 70 points (they're averaging 1.85 this season). And for those willing to suggest those predictions mean little, we need only look to the lessons from last year for proof of that not being the case.

After seven matches in 2015/16, Chelsea were on just eight points. That's an average of 1.14 points per game. Over the course of a 38-game campaign, it equals 44, which isn't too far off the 50 Chelsea picked up.

These early games mean plenty for how the season is going to pan out—the trends are there.

It may not be the impact every Chelsea supporter was hoping for, but the signs are clear that Conte is making an impression at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are stronger for having him on the scene.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.